Chicago Blackhawks left wing Bryan Bickell (29) is shoved to the ice by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) during the final seconds of the third period in game three of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden. The Bruins won 2-1. (Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports)

Rask, Bruins shut out Blackhawks for Game 3 win

By SportsDirect

Tuukka Rask made 28 saves for his third shutout of the postseason while Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron scored second-period goals as host Boston took a 2-1 lead over Chicago in the Stanley Cup final.

Chris Kelly notched his first assist of the playoffs for the Bruins, who will look to put a stranglehold on the Presidents' Trophy-winning Blackhawks when they host Game 4 on Wednesday. Captain Zdeno Chara, Jaromir Jagr and Tyler Seguin also recorded an assist apiece as Boston posted its seventh straight home victory and 11th consecutive triumph in Game 3 of playoff series.

Corey Crawford turned aside 33 shots for Chicago, which went 0-for-5 on the power play en route to its seventh Game 3 loss in a row.

After a scoreless first period, Boston got on the board at 2:13 of the second on a goal by Game 2 hero Paille. The checking forward cleverly lifted the stick of Chicago's Dave Bolland to gain possession of a loose puck and beat Crawford to the glove side from the right faceoff circle for his fourth tally of the postseason.

Bergeron doubled the lead during a power play with 5:55 remaining in the session. Just five seconds after a 5-on-3 opportunity expired, Jagr made a stellar cross-crease pass from below the right circle to Bergeron, who banked the puck into the net off the left post for his seventh goal.

Rask stopped 10 shots in both the first and third periods while turning aside eight in the second. The Finn has allowed only five goals in 245 minutes, 53 seconds over the first three games of the series.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Boston dominated the faceoff battle, winning 40 of the 56 draws taken. ... The Blackhawks' best scoring chance came with 46 seconds remaining in the third period, when LW Bryan Bickell's shot from the slot rang off the right post. ... Chicago was without RW Marian Hossa, who was scratched with an undisclosed injury suffered when he was hit by a shot during pregame warmups. Hossa has one assist in the Stanley Cup final and seven goals and 15 points in 19 postseason games. RW Ben Smith, who had one goal in one regular-season game in 2013, replaced Hossa in the lineup. Smith recorded three tallies in seven playoff contests in 2010-11. ... Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville made another lineup change, inserting RW Viktor Stalberg for LW Brandon Bollig. Stalberg entered with three assists in 15 games this postseason, while Bollig failed to notch a point in five contests. ... Boston C Brad Marchand had a chance to open the scoring with less than four minutes remaining in the first period but lost control of the puck during a short-handed breakaway. ... Chicago has failed to score on its last 20 power-play opportunities, while Boston has successfully killed its last 27 penalties. ... The clubs avoided tying the Stanley Cup final record of three straight overtime games to open the series. Toronto and Montreal accomplished the feat in 1951, with all five contests of the series needing extra time.